Poor interpretation of chest X-rays by junior doctors

Studies targeting medical students and junior doctors have shown that their radiological skills are insufficient. Despite the widespread use of chest X-ray; however, a study of Danish junior doctors' skills has not previously been performed.

A total of 22 participants per-used a standardised series of ten chest X-rays. The test used a multiple-choice form for each image, and the clinical data and the tentative diagnosis of each image were also made available to the participants. For each image, the participant chose a single primary diagnosis; and for each diagnosis, the participant's confidence in the diagnosis was assessed on a five-point Likert scale. The diagnoses were divided into four groups: normal findings, chronic diseases, acute diseases and hyperacute diseases or conditions.

A total of 22 doctors receiving basic clinical education (BCE) completed the study. Overall, participants correctly established 51% of the diagnoses. The participants' overall confidence in the primary diagnoses was 57.5% on the Likert scale, corresponding to 57.5% confidence in the proposed diagnoses. The sensitivity was calculated to 0.49 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.41-0.57) and the specificity to 0.55 (95% CI: 0.41-0.68).

Based on the results from this study, we conclude that BCE doctors do not meet the minimum requirements for radiological diagnostic skills for the use of chest X-ray that were established for this study.